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Scary Spam

By ObviousTroll (Mon May 21, 2007 at 12:14:29 PM EST) (all tags)

Has anybody else been seeing spam that obviously comes from a data mine?

So, my Yahoo account received two spam messages today telling me to re-finance my mortgage. One of them had my correct address in the subject line. The other had an old phone number I haven't used in 10 years. Both were addressed to my wife.

The creepy part is that they were both classically bad spam - lousy grammar, goofy spelling and using hidden text to get through the spam filter, but it's really creepy that they managed to connect my email address to my wife's name and to a phone number I had already given up when I signed up for that email address.

The creepiest part is that SWHTL has nearly zero footprint on the web. Googling for her name turns up lots of women with the same name but not her.

At least I don't have to worry about people calling that phone # - I looked it up and it currently belongs to a fax machine in another town.

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Scary Spam | 12 comments (12 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback

yup by yankeehack (4.00 / 2) #1 Mon May 21, 2007 at 02:34:26 PM EST

back in Dec/January I was getting spam that looked like it was coming from my bank but wasn't. The thing was, even though I use a national bank, I wasn't getting emails for any other national banks.

Getting those things nearly gave me a heart attack, but after I put spamassassin on delete everything that scores over a 10, I don't see them anymore.

So yeah, it doesn't surprise me at all that the spammers are datamining for accounts/addresses, etc.
..................
"But if it isn't working for you then get the hell out and go find yourself some joy." -aphrael

I wonder if they got your credit report by wiredog

(4.00 / 2) #2 Mon May 21, 2007 at 05:02:06 PM EST

I pulled mine a couple of weeks ago, and it has addresses and phone numbers from when I was in the Army, back in 87.

That said, I rarely get spam of any sort. Well, rarely get any that gets through the filters.

Earth First!
_{(We can strip mine the rest later.)}

: I was wondering the same thing but by ObviousTroll (2.00 / 0) #5 Tue May 22, 2007 at 01:29:19 AM EST

I'm surprised they were willing to pay money for credit reports.
Unless, of course, the information was stolen.

--
Cur etiam hic es?
[ Parent ]

I got letters from that Nigerian guy by muchagecko

(4.00 / 1) #3 Mon May 21, 2007 at 05:08:27 PM EST

with my first and last name. But those stopped when I changed my e-mail address to something that didn't have my name in it.

The only people to get even with are those that have helped you.

That's the thing. by ObviousTroll (4.00 / 1) #6 Tue May 22, 2007 at 01:30:18 AM EST

None of my email addresses use my real name. At this point they're all "obvious troll" or "porkchop" in one form or another.

--
Cur etiam hic es?
[ Parent ]

Obviously stuff is being read. by muchagecko

(2.00 / 0) #7 Tue May 22, 2007 at 04:00:28 AM EST

Should we stop sending e-mail? Is there any other way to keep ourselves safe? Maybe writing to politicians asking for stronger laws against hackers and spammers will work?

Honestly, I don't know what we can do to keep from going the way of "Idiocracy".

The only people to get even with are those that have helped you.
[ Parent ]

: The only connecting point I can think of by ObviousTroll (4.00 / 1) #8 Tue May 22, 2007 at 05:25:57 AM EST

the email address is the one I use when ever strangers (or strange companies) ask me for an email address. It gets, literally, 4k spam messages per month now, almost all of which go right into the junk folder.
So, my guess is that someone who did work on our house asked me for an email address and I gave them that one, and they sold it. They probably got SWHTL's name the same way. How they tied it to a phone # for a different address I don't know - maybe it was the realtor who sold us the house?

--
Cur etiam hic es?
[ Parent ]

It is creepy-scary by johnny (2.00 / 0) #4 Mon May 21, 2007 at 06:12:02 PM EST

and of course the overlords of the Haliburton regime and the Overmind itself are only just getting started.

I do take minor solace in the fact that Google Maps continues to show the wrong spot for me. It gives the place one town over with the same address, even though it's in a different zip code.

I do continue to scatter false crumbs along my trail by creating bogus entities with different middle names. That produces some amusing results. But I'm sure the overmind will autocorrect soon enough, alas.
... this is dreamworld after all... it isn't? Shit.

Marriage records and phone directories? by dn (2.00 / 0) #9 Tue May 22, 2007 at 05:31:23 PM EST

There's a lot of info being sold out there.

I ♥
TOXIC
WASTE

Thing is... by ObviousTroll (2.00 / 0) #10 Wed May 23, 2007 at 01:34:29 AM EST

I'm pretty sure I didn't fill out my marriage license as "porkchop_d_clown@yahoo.com".

--
Cur etiam hic es?
[ Parent ]

Yeah, but... by dn (2.00 / 0) #11 Wed May 23, 2007 at 08:46:07 PM EST

Did you ever use that email address with an Internet vendor who also got your real name? There's a lot of information being sold out there.

I ♥
TOXIC
WASTE

[ Parent ]

: Yup, that's the scary part. by ObviousTroll (2.00 / 0) #12 Thu May 24, 2007 at 04:00:56 AM EST

Definitely.

--
Cur etiam hic es?
[ Parent ]

Scary Spam | 12 comments (12 topical, 0 hidden) | Trackback